Sam fuelled for summer
A RETURN to the Sunshine State and slip down the rankings has primed Sam Stosur for a bumper Australian summer.
The 2011 US Open champion has spent the bulk of her pre-season in Queensland, a change from traditionally warming up for the Australian Open by training in Sydney and Melbourne.
The Gold Coast product’s struggles on home soil have been well documented, with the pressure of being Australia’s top-ranked female seemingly taking its toll.
But that mantle now belongs with fellow Queenslander Ash Barty (world No.17), with Stosur dropping below Daria Gavrilova (No.25) after suffering a hand injury during the French Open.
Stosur, 33, will play the Brisbane International from December 31 and hopes her Queensland preparation will lead to one of her strongest Aussie summers.
“I’m doing a fair bit of my pre-season training in Queensland,” she said.
“My coach (Josh Eagle) is a Queenslander, so it works out well for us to both be here.
“I grew up here. All my family is here.
“Hopefully being in these warmer, hotter conditions every day will be really good for me. I’ve been working pretty hard and feeling good about where I am right now.
“Some people have said I’m like a diesel car – I’m a bit slow to get going sometimes then when I go I can do pretty well.
“The more wins you have straight up the better you feel. Everything seems to fall into place better. That confidence rises and everything seems so much easier.”
Stosur has never been past the fourth round at the Australian Open in a career that’s seen her win a US Open and make a French Open final.
The pressure that has come with being the golden girl of Australian tennis has been seen as a factor behind Stosur’s failures on home soil.
“It’s nice to have that No.1 next to your name but at the end of the day, you go into every match the same,” she said.
“You don’t think because you’re the No.1 ranked that it’s any easier, or at No.3 it’s going to be any harder.
“No matter what your ranking, you’re going to have to be ready to play well straight up.
“A lot of that (public pressure) is up to you guys (media), so we’ll see. I know what I think I’m capable of, my own expectations and what I want to be trying to achieve.”